Sanders is an All-American

WILMINGTON, OHIO - Colin Sanders' dream cross country season was punctuated Saturday in a big way.

The Gaylord High graduate is now an All-American after finishing 19th at the Division 3 national championship while running for Vassar (N.Y.) College.

Sanders, a junior, joined coach Jack McCowan as Vassar's only All-American and finished higher than any of the six prior Brewers national qualifiers.

Sanders time at the event, hosted by Wilmington (Ohio) College was 27:22, considered a solid effort given the race's tough conditions.

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"I felt really good on the fifth mile," Sanders said in a press release. "I knew I was in a good spot and was able to pick off a few guys before the finish. It was a lot of fun to run in the mud."

During his breakout season, Sanders won three invitationals - The Vassar College Invitational, the James Early Invitational and the ECAC Championship. He was named All-Liberty Conference, All-Region and All-American.

Sanders, through a recent interview with his high school coach, Gaylord's Jeff Kalember, admitted his season started long before the first race.

"I started my training at the end of May, running about 30 miles a week," Sanders said. "I increased by about five miles a week or so until I got up at 60 and started to hold even. Almost all my runs were done at 7:30 pace, but sometimes I went faster and some days slower."

Being healthy also helped Sanders reach his goal.

"I didn't have any leg troubles, which I'd had the past two years," he said.

Sanders has shown amazing time drops from his previous seasons to this. One of the reasons, he said, is his increased leadership role.

"One of the main things that has helped me is being the oldest runner on the team," Sanders said. "We don't have any seniors, so the sophomores and freshmen look up to the juniors as role models. I felt the responsibility to lead by example and so there was a little extra pressure to do well. I went into the season with the confidence of having a great summer of training, coupled with the higher expectations of being an upperclassman and captain.

The race also marked the reunion of Sanders with his high school teammate, Nick Lewis.

Lewis, running for Rhodes (Tenn.) College finished 87th at 28:22.

Throwing out the seniors in the race, Sanders will be the 13th-fastest returning runner in Division 3.